Catholic-Jewish Relations Research Guide for Use with the Exhibit "A Blessing to One Another: Pope John Paul II and the Jewish People"

The purpose of this research guide is to provide library resources that will assist visitors in exploring additional information on various Holocaust- and genocide-related topics. The research guide is created using materials that are located in Holocaust Museum Houston library collections. This guide is not meant to be exhaustive. The annotations provided will help users determine the materials' focus and library location. These materials may also be found in a local public or university library. Contact your local library or librarian for assistance in locating materials.

John Paul II in the Holy Land: In His Own Words, by Yehezkel Landau, Michael B. McGarry, Lawrence Boadt, Kevin Di CamilloPaulist Press 2005This book documents Pope John Paul II’s trip to Israel in 2000 by providing his itinerary and speeches given during the pilgrimage. It includes commentaries, maps and photos.BX1378.5 .J582520 – In General Collection

The Hidden Pope: The Untold Story of a Lifelong Friendship that is Changing the Relationship Between Catholics and Jews: The Personal Journey of John Paul II and Jerzy Kluger, by Darcy O'BrienDaybreak Books 1998This book explores the friendship of Pope John Paul II and Jerzy Kluger, using recollections of Kluger, additional interviews from witnesses to the friendship of the two men, archival documents, and secondary publications to tell the story of a friendship between two childhood friends, one Catholic (Lolek, later John Paul) and one Jewish (Kluger). The boys were separated at the beginning of World War II. Kluger was imprisoned during World War II and lost his family during the Holocaust. The two men reunited 30 years later and continued their friendship. John Paul enlisted Kluger to work with him secretly toward Vatican recognition of Israel. The book includes sources and ackowledgements. BX1378.5 .O24 1998 – In General Collection

Letter to a Jewish Friend: The Simple and Extraordinary Story of Pope John Paul II and His Jewish School Friend, by Gian Franco Svidercoschi; translated by Gregory DowlingCrossroad 1994"Letter to a Jewish Friend" is the tale of two boys, one a Christian and one a Jew, in a Polish town during the 1920s and 1930s. Jurek’s and Lolek’s lives were to be changed by the advent of antisemitism and then by the Nazis, the war and deportations. However, the bond between them was to prove stronger than all other forces, and almost half a century later, brought together the Polish Pope and his Jewish friend. It includes author notes and a letter sent by John Paul II to Jerzy Kluger.BX1378.5 .S871319 1994 – In General Collection

Catholic Teaching on the Shoah: Implementing the Holy See's "We Remember," by the Catholic Church, Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs, National Conference of Catholic Bishops, Commission for Religious Relations with the JewsUnited States Catholic Conference 2001This pamphlet was published by the Catholic Church to help Catholic schools develop curricula and educational programs on the Holocaust. It provides goals for teaching Shoah education in a Catholic context, suggestions for teaching courses on the Shoah and considerations in properly framing and discussing difficult topics. It includes a bibliography of resources that can be used to teach Holocaust education.BS413 .W47 C38 2001 – In General Collection

Catholics Remember the Holocaust, by the Catholic Church, Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs, National Conference of Catholic BishopsUnited States Catholic Conference 1998Centering on the Vatican statement "We Remember: A Reflection on the Shoah," this publication contains statements on the Shoah by the Vatican and Episcopal conferences in Europe and the United States. It includes a bibliography on Jewish-Christian relations.D804.3 .C38 1998 – In General Collection

Catholic Jewish Relations: Documents from the Holy See, introduction by Eugene J. Fisher, Catholic Truth Society (Great Britain)Catholic Truth Society 1999This book contains the four documents that constitute the entire body of universal Roman Catholic teaching on Jews and Judaism. It includes a bibliography.BM535 .C38 1999 – In General Collection

Hitler's Priests : Catholic Clergy and National Socialism, by Kevin P. SpicerNorthern Illinois University Press 2008This book examines a group of German Catholic clergy, known as the brown priests, that supported and advocated National Socialism. By studying the brown priests' lives, speeches, sermons and writings, it shows how they were able to justify their support of National Socialism. This analysis of the brown priests looks into the Catholic Church hierarchy at the levels of oversight and leadership that failed to oppose National Socialism’s social and territorial goals. It includes Appendix 1: German Catholic ecclesiastical structure and Appendix 2: The Brown priests: biographical data, notes, sources cited and an index.BX1536 .S65 2008 – In General Collection

Human Rights and the Catholic Tradition, by Donald J. DietrichTransaction Publishers 2007This book is an historical analysis of the Catholic Church’s commitment on human rights and a study of German Catholic behavior during world wars, the Nazi era and post-World War II. In particular, the book indentifies various Catholic theologians and thinkers who condemned the Nazis. As a result of the Nazi era, these same theologians and thinkers developed a new theology emphasizing the dignity of the human person that became the Second Vatican Council’s official teaching. BX1795 .H85 D54 2007 – In General Collection

The Catholic Church and the Holocaust, 1930-1965, by Michael PhayerIndiana University Press 2000This book uses Catholic Church documents to investigate the actions of the Catholic Church and individual Catholics during the Holocaust, the post-war years and the Cold War era. It includes notes, a bibliography and an index.REF BX1378 P49 2000 – In Reference Collection

German Catholics and Hitler's Wars: A Study in Social Control, by Gordon C. ZahnUniversity of Notre Dame Press 2002 This book uses interviews, war-time publications, diocesan journals and newspapers to analyze the Catholic Church’s role during World War II. The book specifically analyzes the church’s teaching of “just war” and pacifism. It contains a bibliography and an index. BX1536 .Z3 2002 – In General Collection

A Moral Reckoning: The Role of the Catholic Church in the Holocaust and its Unfulfilled Duty of Repair, by Daniel Jonah GoldhagenAlfred A. Knopf 2002This book primarily uses secondary sources to investigate the Catholic Church’s role during the Holocaust. The book is divided into three parts. Part 1 focuses on Pope Pius XII and the church’s action during the Nazi period. Part 2 addresses the church’s moral culpability for various aspects of the Holocaust, and Part 3 asks what the church should do to make amends for its actions during the Holocaust. It includes endnotes and an index.BX1378 .G57 2002 – In General Collection

Under His Very Windows: The Vatican and the Holocaust in Italy, by Susan ZuccottiYale University Press 2000This book examines Vatican pre-war documents, archival material from local dioceses, information from church institutions that helped Jews, Jewish documentation centers and the Italian government, as well as newspapers and journals, published memoirs and personal interviews to discern the Vatican’s and the pope’s role in helping Jews in Italy. The research explores the degree to which the pope himself took action, the extent to which he encouraged others to act and the Vatican’s efforts to assist Italy’s Jews. It includes abbreviations, bibliographical references and an index. DS 135 I8 Z87 2000 – In General Collection

The American Catholic Press and the Jewish State, 1917-1959, by Esther Yolles FeldblumKtav Pub. House 1977This book uses Catholic periodicals to explore shifting attitudes and responses of American Catholic opinion to certain key events in the history of Zionism and Israel. It includes a key to abbreviations, bibliography and an index. DS 149 .F44 1977 – In General CollectionIn the Lion's Den: the Life of Oswald Rufeisen, by Nechama TecOxford University Press 1990 During World War II, Oswald Rufeisen, a Jew passing as a Christian in Poland, thwarted the annihilation of the Mir ghetto and saved an entire Belorussian village from destruction. Eventually, Rufeisen found shelter in a convent, where he converted to Catholicism. After the war, Rufeisen became a priest and Carmelite monk. Identifying himself as a Christian Jew and a Zionist, he moved to Israel. He challenged the "Law of Return" in a case that reached the high court and attracted international attention. The book includes bibliographic references and an index.DS 135.P63 R848 1990 – In General Collection

Pope Pius XII and the Holocaust, edited and introduced by Carol Rittner and John K. RothLeicester University Press Continuum 2002This collection of papers reflects on Pope Pius XII and the Holocaust. The contributed papers are authored by scholars from a variety of disciplines. It contains a bibliography and an index. REF BX 1378 P57 2002 – In Reference Collection

The Convent at Auschwitz, by Wladyslaw T. BartoszewskiG. Braziller 1991In 1984, Carmelite nuns sought to establish a convent in an abandoned building that borders Auschwitz to remember the Polish Catholics who died in the camp. Worldwide protests by the Jewish community led to an agreement in 1987 to remove the convent and create a center used for education, meetings, information and prayer. In 1989, the controversy escalated due to actions and statements by both sides. The pope intervened and agreed the convent should be moved and offered support for the new center. The book contains chapter notes and an index.BX4324.O88 B37 1991 – In General Collection

The Hidden Encyclical of Pius XI, by Georges Passelecq and Bernard Suchecky; translated from the French by Steven Rendall; with an introduction by Garry WillsHarcourt Brace 1997In 1938, Pope Pius XI gave the task of writing a document condemning Nazi Germany racial policies to an American priest. Pope Pius XI intended to issue the text as an encyclical, official “circular letter." The priest was to write the letter of his own convictions and was sworn to secrecy regarding the task he was given. The priest created the document known as Humani Generis Unitas (The Unity of the Human Race). The priest gave the document to Pope Pius XI, but it was not made public. In 1939, Pope Pius XI died, and the document was not found until the 1960s. This book provides answers to what happened to that document. It contains the Humani Generis Unitas complete text, chapter notes, a bibliography and an index. BM535 P2431513 1997 – In General Collection

The Chief Rabbi, the Pope and the Holocaust: An Era in Vatican-Jewish Relations, by Robert G. Weisbord; Wallace P. SillanpoaTransaction Publishers 1992 In 1945, Israele Zolli, chief rabbi of Rome’s ancient Jewish community, converted to Catholicism. Zolli chose the name Eugenio as his baptismal name in honor of Pope Pius XII. Zolli believed Pope Pius XII showed great humanitarianism toward Jews during the Holocaust. This book uses previous scholarship, archival materials and interviews to explore the reasons Zolli left the Jewish community and converted to Catholicism. It also looks at Pope Pius XII's World War II policies regarding the Jewish community. Pius XII's behavior is evaluated to determine whether Zolli accurately gauged his behavior. It includes a bibliography (p. 205-225) and an index.BM535 .S46 1991 – In General Collection

Hitler, the War and the Pope, by Ronald J. RychlakOur Sunday Visitor 2000This book explores Pope Pius XII's actions and inactions during World War II using Vatican archives and secondary publications. It provides the background facts, including discussions of history, religion, politics, diplomacy and military tactics. Then, it presents 10 fundamental questions concerning Pope Pius XII and the Nazis which are answered with legal analysis and authoritative citation. The epilogue provides a critical examination of John Cornwell’s recent book on the same topic "Hitler’s Pope: the Secret History of Pius XII." It includes chapter endnotes, a bibliography and an index. D810 .C6 R95 2000 – In General Collection

Hitler and the Vatican: The Secret Archives that Reveal the Complete Story of the Nazis and the Vatican, by Peter GodmanFree Press 2004This book uses Vatican archives, which were not opened until 2003, to examine church policy and the actions, both positive and negative, that were chosen to follow. It discusses the role Pope Pius XI and Pope Pius XII played during World War II and the effect they had on the Catholic Church. The book includes appendices that are the complete texts of Vatican archival documents used as evidence to support the book, a list of abbreviations in notes, an index of primary sources, chapter notes, a bibliography and a general index. D810 .C6 G63 2004 – In General Collection

The Popes Against the Jews: The Vatican's Role in the Rise of Modern Anti-Semitism, by David I. Kertzer Alfred A. Knopf 2001As part of his efforts to improve Catholic-Jewish relations, Pope John Paul II called for an investigation into any possible link between the Catholic Church and the Holocaust. The church’s investigation revealed there was not a link between the destruction of European Jews and the church. Pope John Paul II decided to open long-sealed Vatican archives to allow access to scholars to assess the church’s role during World War II. This book is a scholar’s result using the Vatican archives to look into the role played by the Catholic Church in the historical hatred and persecution of the Jews. It includes the appendix "Popes and their Secretaries of State," endnotes, a bibliography and an index.BM535 .K43 2001 – In General Collection

The Myth of Hitler's Pope: How Pope Pius XII Rescued Jews from the Nazis, by David G. DalinRegnery Publishers 2005In this book, a rabbi analyzes previously published material to explore the history of Pope Pius XII and the Catholic Church. The research explodes the myth of "Hitler’s Pope" and condemns the mythmakers for not only rewriting history, but for denying the testimony of Holocaust survivors, hijacking the Holocaust for unseemly political ends and ignoring the real threat to the Jewish people. It includes bibliographical references (p. 167-192) and an index.BX1378 .D35 2005 – In General Collection

Memory Offended: the Auschwitz Convent Controversy, edited by Carol Rittner and John K. RothPraeger 1991 In 1984, Carmelite nuns sought to establish a convent in an abandoned building that borders Auschwitz to remember the Polish Catholics who died in the camp. Worldwide protests by the Jewish community led to an agreement to remove the convent. This book examines Catholic-Jewish relations using the Auschwitz convent event. Essays authored by scholars address the Auschwitz convent controversy’s impact on important issues in Jewish-Christian relationships, the assumptions that need to be re-examined, obstacles overcome, pitfalls to avoid, strengths needed to address issues to improve Jewish-Christian relations and lessons Jews and Christians can learn as a result of this controversy. It includes key documents about the Auschwitz convent controversy, a bibliography, an index and information about the editor and contributors.BM535 .M44 1991 – In General Collection

The Catholic Church and Nazi Germany, by Guenter LewyDa Capo Press 2000This book uses Catholic official pronouncements of the episcopate, newspapers, periodicals, writings and interviews to tell the story of the relationship of the Catholic Church and National Socialism. It contains the appendix of the German Catholic Episcopate in September 1933, chapter notes and an index. BX1536 .L4 1964- In General Collection

Amen (videorecording), by Claude Berri; coproduction of Katharina/Renn Productions; TF1 Films production in association with KC Medien; with the participation of Canal+; a film by Costa-Gavras; with screenplay writers, Costa-Gavras and Jean Claude Grumberg; director, Costa-GavrasKino on Video 2002When a newly commissioned SS lieutenant witnesses the chemical disinfectant he's helped perfect being used to systematically murder interred Jews, he knows he must act. The only sympathetic ear he finds is a young priest with ties to the Vatican. As the two unlikely allies fight to reveal the truth to the church and world, they discover that a man of conscience can commit treason and a man of God can commit heresy to thwart genocide.DVD 1 – In Audio/Visual Collection

The Assisi Underground, a Golan-Globus production; produced by Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus; directed by Alexander RamatiMGM/UA Home Video 1985This video tells the story of work done by the Catholic Church and the people of Assisi to rescue several hundred Italian Jews from Nazi execution following the German occupation of Italy in 1953.DVD 1 – In Audio/Visual Collection

Genocide in Satellite Croatia, 1941-1945: a Record of Racial and Religious Persecutions and Massacres, by Edmond Paris, translated from the French by Lois PerkinsAmerican Institute for Balkan AffairsThis book examines various archival documents, Croatian and Vatican newspapers and magazines, and books to explore the Catholic Church and Croatian government’s role in the treatment of the Serbian population during World War II. It includes lists of names of clergymen and rabbis killed, a bibliography, an index and supporting photographs. D804 .Y82 P372 1961 – In General Collection

First Words: A Childhood in Fascist Italy, by Rosetta Loy; translated by Gregory ContiMetropolitan Books 2000This memoir is written through the eyes of a Catholic child growing up in World War II Italy. The author contrasts her warm memories of schooldays, playmates and family with the increasingly restrictive laws against Jews, the menacing Italian Blackshirts and the failure of the Vatican to take a firm position against Jewish persecution. It includes a bibliography and an index. DS135 .I8 L6913 2000 – In General Collection

Vatican Diplomacy and the Jews during the Holocaust 1939-1945, by John F. MorleyKtav Publishing House 1989This book uses Vatican diplomatic records to ascertain the instructions and orders given from the Vatican to its representatives in various European capitals. In addition to Vatican records, studies and additional sources, such as Jewish archives, are used to discover how the Vatican and its representatives reacted to the phases of Nazi persecution of Jews from 1939 to 1943. It includes appendices, various reproduced Vatican archival records, a bibliography, chapter endnotes and an index. D810 .J4 M588 1989 – In General Collection

The Conversion of Edith Stein, by Florent Gaboriau translation and preface by Ralph McInernyInd. St. Augustine's Press 2002Edith Stein converted from Judiasm to Catholicism. Eventually, she becomes a Carmelite nun and entered the convent in Cologne. Because Nazi persecution of Jews, converted or not, endangered others in her convent, she asked to be moved to another convent in The Netherlands. The German armies of occupation soon followed. In 1942, at the Carmelite convent at Echt Netherlands, she was taken and shipped to Auschwitz and executed. The book includes a chronology, bibliographic references and an index. BX4700 .S74 G3313 2001 – In General Collection

Primary Resources

Oral history interview with Henri Cramarz (videorecording)Holocaust Museum Houston 1996 Henri (Hirsch) Cramarz, a Jewish Holocaust survivor, was born in Lodz, Poland in 1904. Cramarz was living in Belgium when the Germans invaded. His job as a furrier (selling furs) enabled him to bribe Germans with furs to delay deportation. He was hidden in various places by non-Jews. Cramar posed as a Catholic priest with the help of a Father Gardella. One photo pictures Cramarz dressed as Catholic priest. 1 videocassette; Transcript: 10 p.OH 12.80 – In Oral History Collection

Oral history interview with Sylvia Bassat (videorecording)Holocaust Museum Houston 1994Sylvia Bassat, a Jewish Holocaust survivor, was born in Paris, France on Dec. 27, 1930. After the Germans invaded France, she lived in non-occupied France. Conditions were difficult. She moved many times and stole food to survive. After the Germans took control of the entire country, she was sheltered in a convent and Catholic orphanage. 1 videocassette; Transcript: 17 p.OH 2.00 – In Oral History Collection

Oral history interview with Arthur Shapiro (videorecording)Holocaust Museum Houston 1994Arthur Shapiro, a Jewish Holocaust survivor, was born in Brussels, Belgium in 1936. When Germany invaded Belgium in May 1940, Shapiro's family left Belgium for France. In France, Shapiro's father joined the Polish army and was evacuated to Great Britain. Shapiro and his mother went to the south of France and tried to take a ship to England but missed the ship. Shapiro's mother fell veryill after that episode and had to have an operation, so he was placed in an orphanage for about a year. When his mother recovered from the operation, she was taken in by Madame Boufice. While his mother was in hiding at Mme. Boufice's, Shapiro was able to enroll in a Catholic school. He remembers that he did not realize he was not Catholic while attending school. By 1942, Germany had occupied all of France. Shapiro's mother had remained in hiding with Mme. Boufice throughout the entire German occupation. In 1945, Shapiro and his mother rejoined his father and moved back to Belgium. In Belgium, he went to a Jewish school and became a Belgium citizen at the age of 16. He recalls living in both Catholic and Jewish worlds. In 1955, Shapiro left for Montreal, Canada and started university in 1956. He married in Canada in 1960 and lived there until 1983. Afterward, he and his wife left for Jakarta, Indonesia and stayed there until December 1991. 1 videocassette; Transcript: 45 p.OH 90.00 – Oral History Collection

Oral history interview with Samuel Rubin (videorecording)Holocaust Museum Houston 1996 Samuel Rubin, a Jewish Holocaust survivor, was born in Charleroi, Belgium on Oct. 7, 1928. In 1942, he was hidden by Catholics in Chatelet, Belgium until his liberation by U.S. troops in 1944. 1 videocassette; Transcript: 22 p.OH 83.50 – In Oral History Collection

Oral history interview with Irene Lowenthal (videorecording)Holocaust Museum Houston 1994Irene Lowenthal, a Jewish Holocaust survivor, was born in Aschaffenburg, Germany on Nov. 13, 1923. Lowenthal recalls attending Catholic school, Catholic-Jewish relations in Aschaffenburg, having non-Jewish friends prior to 1938 and her father and uncle being shot during Kristallnacht. Her father survived the shooting but her uncle died. She moved to London in 1939 and then to the United States in 1940. After the war, a court trial was held for the men who shot her father and uncle. She visited Aschaffenburg with her father in 1964. She shows and translates a newspaper article that covers the trial of the men that shot her father and uncle. She shows photos.OH 51.00 – In Oral History Collection

Research Strategies

The terms below are Library of Congress subject headings. Using the terms in library catalogs and electronic search tools will retrieve relevant materials.

Catholic Church — Relations —Judaism

Catholic Church — Germany — History — 1933-1945

World War, 1939-1945 — Religious aspects — Catholic Church

Church and state — Germany — History — 20th century

Fascism and the Catholic Church

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